Tuesday

Despite very little game activity aside from a bad game in Tampa, Mayfield must be ready for the season. His coach has no doubt he will be.

BEREA Unlike the shade from some mammoth trees overhanging the Browns' complex, any shadow of a doubt about Baker Mayfield is between the ears, not subject to the eyes.

Mayfield is coming off a bright season that included an NFL record for touchdown passes by a rookie. Yet, Browns fans have learned not to assume their quarterbacks are guaranteed to grow, even ones drafted at No. 1 overall.

One could fairly assess Mayfield's August and sense a shadow.

He logged one lonely (albeit lovely) series three weeks ago against Washington. He sat out the next game and then, at Tampa, put up some of the worst numbers of his career.

His completion percentage WAS the worst. And he didn't do any better on the eyeball test.

As Freddie Kitchens put it, by way of not giving Mayfield a pass because his top receivers weren't on the field, "Baker wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer."

It's not as if Mayfield didn't get enough chances for a fair judgment. He threw 26 passes in his one half of action, which translates to 52 for a full game, a stunning number for a guy who averaged 36 passes in his 13 starts last year.

Compare Mayfield's 26 attempts to the amount thrown by his AFC North rivals in their third preseason games. It was 16 for Ben Roethlisberger against the Titans, 10 for Andy Dalton against the Giants, and none for Lamar Jackson against the Eagles. (Baltimore's QB totaled 16 throws in the first two games.)

This was the alarming part for Mayfield: He went 10-for-26, 38.5 percent.

Numerically, Mayfield never was close to as bad as 38.5 percent in his year at Texas Tech or his three seasons at Oklahoma. His season-to-season worsts were 52.5 against TCU in 2013, 45.0 against TCU again in 2015, 53.1 against Ohio State in 2016 and 63.0 against both Texas and Tulane in 2017.

As a Browns rookie in 2018, Mayfield's worsts were 53.8 percent against Buffalo in the preseason and 47.8 against the Chargers in the regular season.

Kitchens has said Mayfield will not play in Thursday's preseason finale against Detroit. Thus, he is left with a preseason in which his only game work was confined to one series three weeks ago and a beastly night against the Bucs.

If it's any consolation to Kitchens, the quarterback Mayfield will oppose in the Sept. 8 opener had a miserable Game 3 against Pittsburgh. Marcus Mariota gave the Titans two series. One ended with him getting sacked for a safety. He threw three passes, all incomplete.

Kitchens does not wish to be consoled.

"I have total confidence Baker is going to be OK," the head coach said.

This comes from the man who as offensive coordinator during the second half of 2018 watched Mayfield take the Browns on a 5-1 hot streak.

Kitchens relies on the pictures in his head from Mayfield's strong rookie year. He relies on what he has seen in practice. There is plenty of history to support his attitude, particularly as to accuracy.

Mayfield's career completion percentage at Lake Travis High School was 64.4. In four years on college fields, it was 68.5, with a low of 64.1 as a Texas Tech freshman. Hhe was above 70 in each of his final two years at Oklahoma. His season percentage as a Browns rookie was 63.8.

DeValve was asked after Tuesday's practice what traits Mayfield offers that might help the Browns get somewhere.

"All of em," said the tight end out of Princeton. "He's a great leader, not only on the field but in the locker room. He has tremendous poise and confidence. I played quarterback in high school, and you need that.

"He steps into his throws and makes them on time. He's tremendously accurate. Sometimes I'm turning around and the ball's right on my head.

"Some guys at that position turn around and just see jerseys. Other guys turn around and see exactly what they need to see. It's hard to find those guys. We found one."

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, a bad practice game notwithstanding, DeValve's is the overriding perception.

Reach Steve at 330-580-8347 or steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP

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